Interior Goals: How To Create Your Own Modern Kitchen

Is it possible to aroused by storage? Can you be turned on by a marble counter top? And does “mood lighting”, ya know, get you in the mood? Well it’s time to get your interiors fix here, you filthy fillies! The older I am getting, the more I am finding myself drawn to all things interiors. In fact, I am drawing up my own interior goals, as myself and my lovely man have moved in together and are starting to consider purchasing our first home! And what is the heart of most homes? It has to be the kitchen. This veritable hub of activity serves as a place to gather, to cook, to eat, so it’s one part of your house that requires a lot of thinking about before you invest. Click this way and discover how to create your very own modern kitchen, which is utter interior goals too…

After a good scroll through my fave Instagram hashtag #InteriorInspo, it was clear to see that my favourite contemporary kitchens all had a few key features in common: unlike outdated designs, the modern kitchen centres around uncluttered worktops, sleek and cleans lines with the very latest in cutting-edge appliances. This not only makes your house look utter hashtag worthy, but they create the ideal environment to bake, dine and entertain.

Perfect order:

I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit of a neat freak – everything has a place and there has to be a place for everything. A tidy kitchen creates a warm, welcoming and calming atmosphere in your home and going anti-clutter can add to this! Yes, while we all might want that statement food mixer that they use on “The Great British Bake-Off” on show, it might not necessarily work with the look of your kitchen. Hiding clutter, especially in open-plan kitchens, is essential, so that’s why it pays to be clever with storage – think deep pan drawers and tambour units to keep small appliances and crockery out of sight. Floor-to-ceiling cupboards with no handles can hide many sins and are a good investment, if you have space. For your kitchen to look neat and work efficiently, you need easy access to appliances. Put pan drawers by ovens, larders close to preparation areas, and china close to the dishwasher. Simples!

Modern worktops:

As fellow bloggers or Instagram junkies know, your worktop is not only important for your kitchen, but it provides a great background for flatlays too – so it’s an important practical and aesthetic decision! Kitchen surfaces featuring consistent colours and patterns create the perfect modern space and there are so many options now available, providing an affordable way of revamping a kitchen. If clean white worktops are too ‘clinical’ for you, heck why not go for bright orange instead? Both styles are effective ways to create an ultra-modern kitchen for family and guests. Many manufacturers are now producing man-made composites that look just as good as the real thing too! Of course, while they can look just like marble or concrete, the real benefit is that they are much easier to look after than natural stones, particularly as marble is actually very porous, which means spilling tomato sauce over it is not a good idea! That’s why faux marble is fantastic not only worktops, but for creating protective splashbacks. Plus the faux stuff is less of the financial outlay than real marble, so you can get the look for a lot less. And we love a bit of marble right fillies?

Contemporary kitchen appliances and utensils:

Even modern kitchens need plenty of appliances, utensils and gadgets. But as talked about earlier, keep in mind that they don’t undo the sleek, clear and minimalist look you’ve painstakingly created. If you have your heart set on a range cooker (which I must admit I am a sucker for), check out the more modern steel models from Smeg, Mercury or Rangemaster that’ll fit in nicely. Fridges, freezers, washing machines, you name it can be stored behind closed doors that blend into the rest of the kitchen. You can also think about installing below-cabinet, in-ceiling or pop-up extractors. Investing in built-in cooking appliances with a sleek, glass hob is another good move for a contemporary kitchen. Plus, how about giving a striking finishing touch with a few modern-day luxuries that feel like magic — such as a boiling water tap, pop-up power points and cool lighting! Ta daaa!

Neat and clean lines:

Handle-free, push button cabinets are the way forward in modern kitchen home décor designs, being both modern and extremely durable. In smaller kitchen spaces, which for most first time home-owners will be the case, the absence of handles conveniently makes the room look bigger. Jackpot! If you are lucky to have a big kitchen with lots of cabinets, going handle-free prevents an overload of steel-work! If you don’t want to go “sans handle”, then you can install a run of classic cabinets a modern edge by dressing them with sleek bar handles. Or, why not add cool built-in appliances and top with colourful composite worktops to really make a statement in your kitchen?

Other top tips to make your kitchen “Interior Goals”:

· Playing with the heights of different surfaces is a great way to create interest in a modern kitchen. For instance, why not have a tall breakfast bar next to a lower-lying island? This provides a relaxed but modern-looking place to eat in your contemporary kitchen. Or you could add a raised area to hide the washing-up from guests in you island, or add stools next to your breakfast bar to maximise seating?

· Think about glass or composite for your splashback feature or why not lay large-format floor tiles and secure them with a matching grout to give a minimalist modern look

· Decent lighting is another great way to transform your space into a modern kitchen. Use plinth lights on your base units and go for LED strips inside your wall cabinets for a contemporary way to make searching your shelves for your Matcha Green Tea totes easier!

And there you have it – no matter the space you have, you can use these tips to create your own modern kitchen! There will be a LOT more Interior Design, Homewares and DIY on FDJ LDN in the coming months, so be sure to stay up to date with all things Interiors and Homewares here!

Until next time fillies,

Leigh at Fashion Du Jour LDN HQ x

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